Ken Wright wins the Peter Ingram Award
Category: National. Posted: 7 September 2022
Enabling Pest Plant Education
Ken Wright Biosecurity Officer Tasman District has won this year’s Peter Ingram Award.
The Peter Ingram Award is given to a member of the Biosecurity Institute who has successfully undertaken or enabled others to achieve, relevant to pest plant education, control or management.
Here is what his nomination said:
Ken has prepared an educational pamphlet series giving practical advice on controlling pests. Our Region is a unitary authority, and our Regional Pest Management Plan RPMP includes both Tasman District Council TDC and Nelson City Council NCC. The pamphlets are designed to provide clear helpful advice to our community across TDC and NCC.
The seven pamphlets are entitled “Controlling Pest Invaders” and include collective categories of; Pest Shrub, Pest Vine, Pest Ground Cover and Grass, Aquatic and Wetland Pests, Pest Tree, Pest Animal and Pest Insect. Each pamphlet has twelve pages and are A5 format.
Pamphlets are available in display racks at the four TDC office public areas and at the main NCC Office. Electronic PDF copies are available on the TDC and NCC web sites.
The first pamphlets were produced in 2010 and the most recent Pest Insects was completed in 2021. The concept is to provide a photo of the pest and outline what herbicides or pesticides and methods of control to use.
Each pamphlet is divided into, firstly pests in our RPMP and then, other pests not in the plan. Print runs are regularly reviewed to ensure they are updated with, new control techniques, chemicals or new pests that have come to our attention. Thus, they are designed to be an information series that are kept current.
Initially there was a reluctance to provide advice on any herbicide or pesticide recommendations, but it was decided to offer the advice with the inclusion of a “disclaimer”, to cover Councils’ liability when chemicals are used at non-standard rates. Chemicals are named by their chemical name and the back page includes a glossary of chemical brand names. The back page also includes useful web sites, specific safety advice, and general information points. Each Pest Plant series includes individual National Pest Plant Accord NPPA status, if it is designated.
The Pest Tree pamphlet was a particular challenge as there was a lack of information for most of these trees, on what; methods of control, herbicides, and concentrations to use. Ken conducted a poisoning trial and finalized the new treatment methods.
The pamphlets have proved invaluable for educating public about what are pests and what they can do to get rid of them. Often when answering public enquiries, we can mail a specific pamphlet to answer their query. Our Biosecurity Officers carry copies of these series in their utes, ready for distribution to occupiers in the field. New staff have also found them helpful, as to what pests to keep an eye out for and what method of control to use. When we have educational display days such as A&P Shows or public field days, these pamphlets are available as take-home educational material.